The number of fasteners (e.g., bolts) used to assemble aircraft can be astronomical. For example, a midsize commercial jetliner can have several million fasteners that are installed to join different parts together.
The time needed to install fasteners may be greater than desired. For example, swage tools which install fasteners may need to be reloaded with collars for lockbolts on a regular basis, and the amount of collars needed for each “run” of a swage tool across an aircraft may vary. Thus, time is either wasted by loading too many collars or too few collars onto a swaging tool. Additionally, if too many collars or too few collars are loaded onto a swaging tool, there is the potential for a collar to jam, which results in a halt in fabrication of the aircraft. Collars may even jam in their feeding systems, and feeding systems may have more components or otherwise occupy more space than desired on the factory floor.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that take into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues. For example, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that overcome a technical problem with automating the installation of fasteners.